N5 is the designation for the National Highway of Pakistan. It is the longest highway of Pakistan and has a total length of 1756 kilometers. It starts from Karachi and ends at Torkham.

While many people know about the major cities that lie along N5, there is a colorful array of smaller towns and villages which are also worth mentioning. In this article I will limit the discussion to the smaller towns of Pakistan which do not get covered in Mainstream media.

Lets start our journey on N5 which will be 5 episodes long. Our first stop today will be Bhit Shah.

Traveling north from Hyderabad on N5, one has to drive 45 kilometers on the highway and then three kilometers east on a side road to reach the town of Bhit Shah. Bhit Shah is famous for the tomb of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai (1689-1752) who is considered by far the greatest poet of Sindhi language.

The shrine is situated on a ‘bhit’ (mound) and hence the name of the place Bhit Shah, the Mound of the King. Millions of devotees come to his tomb every year. The tomb was raised by the first of the Kalhoras and subsequently beautified by the Talpur Mirs. The tomb and an adjacent mosque are famous for the tile and mirror work done on them. It is interesting that none of the tiles used in the Bhit Shah complex come from the nearby tile making center of Hala. The tiles used here either come from Naserpur or Multan.

Shah Abdul Latif had forsaken a life of material comfort for he was born to a background of material wealth. For those who thirst for temporal power and tyranny he expressed his dislike as:

Clean in dress, dirty of soul Donkey worthy slaves they are

Another of his verse goes like this:

Wind blew! The sand enveloped the body, Whatever little life left, is to see the beloved.

Bhit Shah is the only shrine anywhere in Pakistan that has a post-sunset performance of Sufi music and singing everyday of the year. The main instrument played here is the drone-flute damboro, said to have been invented by Shah Abdul Latif himself.

Hala (N5 Kilometer marker 211)

Five kilometers north of Bhit Shah on N5, is a city called Hala. Hala is famous for the mausoleum of Mir Makhdum Nuh who died in 1592, though the present tomb dates back to 1790s. A severe flood in Indus in 1790s destroyed most of Hala. The city was then rebuilt by one of the Mirs at its present location. The present city of Hala is divided into two smaller cities. New Hala is located by the highway, where as old Hala is located couple of kilometers to the west. One enters old Hala through an arched door. It is most famous for its handicrafts industry.

Hala is also noted for its blue and white ceramics and exquisite lacquer work. It is a nice place to stop and do some shopping of traditional Sindhi handicrafts. The general impression that one gets here is of being impressed but pained. Local artists are plenty but very poor. Hala is also famous for its role in Pakistan’s politics. The Makhdum family of Hala has been in and out of power corridors of Pakistan a few times and instils a strong hold on to local and national politics.

New Saeedabad (N5 km marker 229)

Sabu Rahu (N5 km marker 240)

Sakrand (N5 km marker 250)

The countryside near Sakrand is desert like with full fledge sand dunes right next to highway and an abandoned rail track that also ran parallel to N5. This railway track was laid here to bring labor during the construction of Sukkur Barrage on river Indus some 230 km north. Overtime it lost its commercial value and got closed down in mid 1980s. The city of Sakrand was a Railway junction and a track from here connected to the main line at Nawab Shah, which is located less than 20 km to the east.

A road also connects Sakrand with Nawab Shah. On this road three ancient mounds called “Chanhu Daro” have been discovered. Painted pottery, copper and bronze medals, children toys, bead making equipment and seals have been discovered from the area. The presence of a drainage system similar to the one found in Moenjo Daro puts this area in same significance as other towns from Indus valley Civilization era.

Photo of km Marker 259 on N5

Following is a photo of KM 259 on N5, showing distance to Moro as 61 km and Kazi Ahmed 16 km.

Sukho Manahijo (N5 km marker 264)

Kazi Ahmed (N5 km marker 275)

Next town towards north is ‘Kazi Ahmed’ which is located 30 km from Sakrand. ‘Kazi Ahmed’ used to have a rest house belonging to the department of irrigation located right next to the N5. I have fond memories from yesteryears of stopping at this rest house for a cup of tea and to freshen up. This rest house used to serve employees working on the maintenance of 500 km long ‘Rohri canal’ as well as the maintenance of protective dams of River Indus. Rohri canal by the way, is wider, deeper and longer than Suez and Panama canals and remains an engineering feat in this part of the world. Kazi Ahmed also had a railway station and was fed by trains from Tando Adam and Nawab Shah.

Daulatpur (N5 km marker 302)

20 km north of Kazi Ahmed is the town of ‘Daulatpur Safan’. Rail and road used to run parallel and within few hundred feet in this section too. Until 1980s Daulatpur was famous for its red brick houses. There was not a single house in the town that was not made of red bricks or was not painted in brick red color. From a distance the city’s skyline used to look like a brick wall of red color. All that changed in mid 80s and I started noticing multi-colored houses appearing in red skyline. Daulatpur of today is indistinguishable from any other town of Sindh.

‘Daulatpur’ was also among the forefront of famous (or infamous) ‘Movement for Restoration of Democracy (MRD)’ of 1983 and one day the city’s railway station got burned down by an angry mob. The railway sleepers and signals were also uprooted repeatedly in this area. After that the Railways closed down this section for good.

Shahpur Jahanian (N5 km marker 310)

Moro (N5 km marker 320)
North of Daulatpur on N5 is a city called Moro. From Moro a road goes west towards Dadu and crosses river Indus via the famous Moro-Dadu bridge. Dadu-Moro bridge is the longest road bridge in Pakistan. From Moro northwards the N5 leads to the towns of:

Naushahro Feroz (N5 km marker 345),

Bhiria (356km),

Kandiaro (373km),

Kotri Kabir (391km),

Ranipur (N5 km marker 413),

Kot Diji (N5 km marker 437)

A few kilometers North East of Ranipur, N5 passes next to the historic fort of Kot Diji.

This fort was built in 18th century by Mir Sohrab Khan Talpur and was used by him as residence. Just across the fort of Kot Diji, on the other side of N5 archaeological sites have been found. The civilization here seems to be older than that of Moenjo Daro and appears to have ended in a huge fire. Other than some stone foundations there is not much to see.

Further north of Kot Diji is the city of Khairpur. Khairpur was a princely state founded in 1783 by a branch of Talpurs ruling Sindh. It is still the residence of erstwhile ruling family of the Talpurs and has two impressive mansions belonging to them. One of them is called Faiz Mahal. While they are private residences, permission to visit them can be secured onsite.

A photo of Faiz Mahal which is courtesy of Agha Waseem, can be seen below

Khairpur’s status of a princely state ceased in 1955 when all princely states falling under Pakistan’s geography became part one-unit province called the West Pakistan.
Today Khairpur is famous for the production of dates. It is also home to Shah Abdul Latif University‘s campus which was founded in 1987.

Rohri (N5 km marker 483)

Approximately 15 km north of Khairpur is the town of Rohri. It is located on the east bank of river Indus and it has its own collection of goodly buildings. While the city is changing fast, one can still find many buildings at least 2 centuries old among the narrow lanes. Rohri’s ?Jamia Masjid” was constructed in 1564 by Fateh Khan who was a courtier of Emperor Akbar. There is another mosque called the ?Idgah masjid” which also dates back to 1593. Rohri has many artificial forests around it. These were planted by the Talpur rulers as well as the British to provide cheap wood for fueling the steam locomotives.

Rohri remains one of the most important railway junctions on Pakistan’s rail network. The mainline branches off to Sukkur, Quetta and Chaman from here. This ends our current episode of towns along N5. From Rohri N5 goes north and after passing through Pano Akil (N5 km marker 515), Ghotki (543km), Sarhad (554km), Mirpur Mathelo (568km), Daharki (582 km), and Ubaro (596 km) it enters the province of Punjab near Kot Sabzal (N5 km marker 612). The total length of N5 that falls in Sindh province is 612 kilometers.

A map of N5 as it passes between Hyderabad and Rohri is below. The cities and towns that were discussed in the article above are marked in red rectangular boxes.

PHOTO CREDITS:
(1) The black and white photo of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai is shared from here.
(2) Photo of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai’s tomb is shared from here.
(3) The first photo under the Kot diji heading is shared from here
(4) Copyrights for the second photo under the Kot Diji heading blong to Mr. Muntasir Sattar at muntasir27@gmail.com. The photo is posted here with his permission
(5) Agha Waseem at Flickr.com

53 Comments on “Traveling on N5 – Part I”

ALVIPERVAIZ says:

September 4th, 2006 4:33 pm

Dear Owais,

A good road map of route N5 will make this post more enjoyable. Nice work though. Will like to learn more about this highway and the history of its development. It helps to know which section was built when and under which administration. The facts and figures behind the development of the highway. Thanks.

Owais Mughal says:

September 4th, 2006 6:54 pm

Dear Alvi Pervaiz Sahib
I have added a map of N5 as it runs between Hyderabad and Rohri above. It is a link given in the last two lines of the article OR you can directly reach it by clicking on the link below:

I will do more research on N5′s history but a part of it, from Lahore to Torkham is the famous GT road and we all know it was built during Sher Shah Suri era. The Karachi-Lahore part I guess is from the 19th century, but I need to research more to find a definite year or period.

Thanks for the detailed descriptions, somewhat nostalgic for me as part of my ancestry is from Hyderabad, Sindh.

Between points marked 32 and 33, I noticed a “Sita Road”, is that Sita as in Lord Ram’s wife?

Owais Mughal says:

September 4th, 2006 9:05 pm

Dear Bhupindar
Yes Sita road is as in Lord Ram’s wife.

Adil Najam says:

September 4th, 2006 11:09 pm

Owais. Informative and enjoyable as always. I know that Hyderabad’s rabRRi is amazingly and to die for, but the only place where I ever had even better tasting rabRRI was in Hala. Dear Hyderabad-wallahs, no offence meant; I will give anything for some of that Hyderabad rabRRi right now.

Sorry folks, I think with my stomach ;-)

Rabia Bashir says:

September 5th, 2006 12:46 am

Hyderabad is also famous for bangles. Bombay Bakers cake in Hyderabad is very famous too.

Dear Owais,
Here is an idea for your next feature. In Sindh province, there is a series of four lakes along the right bank of the River Indus. These are natural lakes fed by rivers flowing down from Kirthar Range in Balochistan and also, either directly or indirectly (via canals), by the River Indus. As part of our world class Indus basin water management system they are also maintained by the earthen dams. Staring from south the first one is the Kalri Lake half way between Karachi and Hyderabad. The second one is the well known Manchhar Lake near Sehwan Sharif. The third one is the Kachhri Dhand Lake near Kakar in Dadu district. And the fourth and the last one is the Dabo Dhand Lake fed by River Mazrani near Warah in Larkana district. By the way, what are the exact meanings of the word ‘dhand’. Thanks.

ALVIPERVAIZ says:

September 5th, 2006 11:16 am

Dear Mr. Bhupinder Singh,

‘Sita Road’ is a railway station on Hyderabad-Larkana line along the right bank of the mighty Darya Sindh. It serves the town of ‘Sita’ located few miles to the east and two third of the way north on a secondary road from Dadu to Mehar.

Owais Mughal says:

September 5th, 2006 12:23 pm

Alvi Pervaiz sahib
‘dhand’ in sindhi means ‘lake’.

Roshan Malik says:

September 5th, 2006 12:49 pm

Dhand in Seraiki means a pond of water in the river bed. When flood water recedes, it leaves behind many big and small ponds(dhands) within the river bed. Dhands are normally stationary and are hub for fishing.

should have written about the excavations just outside karaci…the port mohammed wasim is alleged to have landed? and the necrorpolis at thatta…also there are still some great mandirs…there is one i saw off tando allah yaar which has its annual ‘celebrations’in february…

khair…would look forward to more

:)

Adil Najam says:

September 5th, 2006 2:19 pm

Temporal, thanks for pointing that out… of course, there is so much out there and only that much which can come in one post… but I do think that someone should write about the Mandirs in Sindh (which, I understand, are a mixed bag — some suffer from willful neglect, yet others are supported well by the communities and offical departments?)… The mandir you mention is, I beleive, the main temple of the large Dalit community that lives around Tando Allah Yaar. This community is largely (but not entirely) Dalit; I recall celebrating a wonderful Dewali there years and years ago… But back to the point; I have not seen documentation on the mandirs in Sindh and it would be great to find more about them here at ATP…. Maybe a ‘guest post’, temporal? ;-)

Owais Mughal says:

September 5th, 2006 2:48 pm

Roshan
thanks for the definition of ‘dhand’ in Seraiki. I believe it means the same in Sindhi.

There are very few readable Shah Latif translations. Elsa Kazi, Ernest Trump have attempted but somehow the essence, the innate expressions of romanticism do not come across.

I wish Annemarie Schimmel had taken it up. She was fluent to great extent and had complete grasp of Shah Latif. I have had the privilege of the Ferozsons collection on Shah Hussain, Bulley Shah, Guru Nanak, Baba Fareed which is an amazing piece of work. This is how translations need to be carried out especially those of Sufi poets.

Talking of translations, I need to catch up on a old project which has been re-energized by the Ferozsons collections. So please bear with my horrible attempt at free verse translation of select verse by Shah Latif

i am in the middle of something (yeah, yeah bet you ‘ve heard this excuse many times;))

i did not take any notes on that trip…just some video and pictures…and have no clue where they are now

also speaking of mandirs…last trip took M on a discovery trip of mandirs in karachi…think we covered for or five mandirs that day before her legs gave out;) …in one there was a garland that spelled out meem-alif-tay-alif…reading that was such a pleasant experience … as was ringing the bells there:)…sadly, again no notes…but if some karachi wala/wali wants to collaborate we could write one

there is also an abandoned mandir on Manora too…sad shape…used as a change room…somebody should step in and restore it or at least put a barricade around it just like they have done to the small chapel nearby

ALVIPERVAIZ says:

September 5th, 2006 5:42 pm

To Temporal & Adil,

I propose Pakistan should do with Buddhist and Hindu temples what Turkey has done with Byzantine churches. Those which are not maintained by the believers themselves should be converted, as a public/private venture, into museums open to public. This will help conserve the archtecture, generate goodwill between communities, and expand tourism.

Somehow, I feel very reassured when I see names like this, or names like Khairpur (in the map above)- one half of the name is Arabic/Persian (“khair”) and the other comes from Sanskrit (“pur”).

Eidee Man says:

September 6th, 2006 12:00 am

I’ve been to all of the places mentioned here :D. The Kotdiji fort is simply awesome and it is sad that so few people visit it….it’s been virtually deserted each time I’ve visited (about 5 times).

Also, same is the case with Mohen-jo-daro…not many people go there.

This is not related to the current topic, but I was wondering if you guys have thought about a podcast…there is this website called Pakcast.com which does a decent job..maybe something like that would be cool…I enjoyed listening to Adil’s views on the videos posted on his website…and a more regular (monthly maybe) civilized discussion sort of thing would be extremely cool and would attract a lot of people.

Rahat Lodhi says:

September 6th, 2006 2:58 am

Dear Owais, AoA
Your travelogue along N5 Highway reminds me of my recent trip to Karachi from Islamabad on the same route approximately three months back. I single-handedly drove from Islamabad to Karachi and back following the National Highway Authorityâ€™s road map. It was a thrilling experience which has compelled me to plan another voyage along N5 in November Inshallah. I experienced some unique aspects of life of Pakistanâ€™s rural population in Punjab and Sindh. I would like to share my experiences some other time. I appreciate your efforts and interest in exploring real Pakistan.

ALVIPERVAIZ says:

September 6th, 2006 9:53 am

Bhupinder: Don’t be so sure. There was a city in Balochistan called ‘Hindu Bagh’. Don’t come looking for it. The name is changed. And the old map of Lahore that you might have. It is no good any more. The names of roads, streets, important buildings, parks and neighborhoods are all changed now. We have a name for this nasty habbit of ours. We call it ‘Islamization’.

Ali Haider says:

September 6th, 2006 8:37 pm

Owais, what is the of the roads. Are they well kept?

Owais Mughal says:

September 6th, 2006 10:21 pm

Ali, N5 is now dualized for most part of its ~1800 km length and it is relatively well maintained as it is the life-line of country’s economy and inter-provincial trade and travel.
I’ve been travelling on N5 from Karachi-to upcountry since 1976 (earliest memories that I have). It has come a long way since then. I remember it being a single lane road with wooden bridges on many canals. Over weight Truck tyre marks on soft asphalt so deep that cars could not ply without having to put two wheels on crest and two wheels on trough.

Now it is a pretty decent highway and one can cover Karachi-Lahore 1280 km in 15-16 hours.

Owais: Your use of phrase ‘dualized’ is very interesting. Don’t take me wrong. I tremendously enjoy your postings. Being a ‘road man’ myself, I could not help noticing your phraseology. Thats all. On each trip to my beloved homeland I look carefully at the various road systems there and think how it could have been done differently. You know, two lanes, three lanes, shoulders, medians, etc. etc…….. Oh well. I am glad there are some roads there. Fifty miles an hour. Not that bad for the country’s major economic life-line. I been to some third world countries where they have none. Waiting for your next road trip.

Owais Mughal says:

September 7th, 2006 12:52 pm

Alvi sahib. i know ‘dualized’ is not an English word :) If you type it in MS word, it comes up as a spelling mistake :) but this what we call Pinglish or an accepted English word with special reference to Pak. National Highway Authority on their webpage calls this process ‘dualization’ of roads. I guess the more correct term is building a ‘dual carriageway’. It means the up and down direction tracks are separated by some kind of barrier (natural or man-made) for two-way traffic.

N5 for most part is a 4 lane highway. 2 lanes in each direction with a barrier between them.

ALVIPERVAIZ says:

September 7th, 2006 3:50 pm

Dear Owais,
I am just having fun with you. Being from Pakistan I very well understand what do they mean by such phrases. One also knows about those ‘kacha roads’ and ‘pakka roads’. You will be amazed by some of the ‘english’ terms used by our ‘sarkari’ educated illiterates starting from Nawaz Sharif all the way down to a ‘peon’. ooppss. When I told my one professor that I was leaving for the USA for the higher studies, he replied, “Go ji go, what to do here”. By the way ‘dualized’ roads in America are refered as ‘divided’ highway.

Owais Mughal says:

September 7th, 2006 4:02 pm

Alvi sahib. you are right and yes ‘divided’ is the word. I was trying to remember it but though being so simple I just couldn’t recall it. So now we have the right terminology for N5 as a 4-lane divided highway :)

classic post – i randomly found it here – its a dream for me to one come pakistan and travel through sindh – theres so much to offer in terms of tourist value, I wish we had a better infrastructure to support tourism.

[...] Among some of the most famous roads which Sher Shah Suri built, Grand Trunk (G.T) road still exists today. It is now part of the National Highway System of Pakistan and is designated as Highway N5. His land reforms included measurement and documentation of property ownership & land which was categorized according to what was cultivated on it. He introduced loans for farmers and at the same time enforced an efficient revenue collection system. One can go on and on about Sher Shahâ€™s contribution to modern methods of governance that did not exist before him but we have already digressed too much. Back to my story of Rohtas Fort or Qila Rohtas. [...]

Its indeed a valuable contribution to the people all over Pakistan or those who are interested in Pakistan. I am going to travel in a few days from Faisalabad to Karachi for the 1st time by road. Can you guide me on the shortest route through a single road map or text.? This will be highly appreciated.

Best regards,

FARAZ

Owais Mughal says:

December 7th, 2007 7:39 am

Faraz
From Faisalabad, your best route will be Faisalabad-Gojra-TobaTek Singh-Shorkot-Khanewal. From Khanewal you will get N5 all the way to Hyderabad. From Hyderabad, you need to go to Jamshoro, from where Super Highway will take you to Karachi

Dear Friends,
Great Job, I was looking for information like you produced, i wish to go there for some time to have my own experience.
Good luck.
Umair.

panhwar sahab says:

April 16th, 2008 4:15 am

shah latif bhiti

sajida says:

July 14th, 2008 11:56 pm

how does one get to hala from karachi. how long does it take. is the journey safe. in hala, where is a good area for buying their tilework

Irfan says:

September 7th, 2008 9:08 pm

Sajida,
It takes three hours to reach from Karachi to Hala by car. It is very much a safe journey and you can buy tiles and other handicrafts even without entering the Hala town as most of the handicraft shops are around the bus stop which is the first place to pass while entering the Hala town.

Aeliya says:

January 19th, 2009 6:10 am

Wonderful info. I had been searching on the net for such info since a long time. Thanks a lot. I’m not a Pakistani but I’m searching for some lost relatives who were in Pakistan before partition. The address given was some Kardi or Kazri garden, near Masjid Kahara or Kalhara or Kolhara. Does anyone know such places in or around Dadu or any place starting with Da….
Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Owais Mughal says:

April 4th, 2009 12:33 am

Photo of Khairpur’s famous Faiz Mahal added under Khairpur’s description

Owais Mughal says:

April 4th, 2009 12:41 am

The last two photos of Kot Diji fort added to the post today

Joby Joseph says:

April 11th, 2009 5:51 pm

Thanks for sharing.

Owais Mughal says:

April 28th, 2009 12:19 am

Photo of kilometer maker 259 on N5 added to the post above.

Mudassar Siddiq says:

May 29th, 2009 2:15 am

Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. Its been years that I have been searching for this kind of information with such details about cities and town on N5. You have done a marvelous job. Hats off to you.

This is very unfortunate that there is no care about tourism develoment in smaller cities and towns of Pakistan which we all know has great potential. This is a fialure on the part of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation. Providing the basic data in a professional way was the basic step.

Pl let me know if ther are any more similar sites available with even more details especially for province Sindh.

Further, adding informations like what-to-do and what-not-to-do and places to stay for the night will add more substance tour site.

Regards,

Mudassar

Owais Mughal says:

May 29th, 2009 10:41 am

Mudassar Saheb, thanks for stopping by at ATP. We try to keep our posts dynamic by continuiusly updating information and photos as they become available or as we come across them. The idea is to not let the information become stale or irrelevant as new landmarks and development keeps highways change their face continuously.